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The Chronology of the Old Testament. The Chronology of the Bible is one of its greatest wonders. The Bible contains a complete chronological system . . . from the beginning of time . . . to the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia . . . and on down to Jesus the Messiah. All of the most important events in Bible history are dated. Bible chronology is an exact science. Evolution is a fabulous myth. The earth is not millions of years old! Human history and Bible chronology began with Adam and Eve, and the creation of the world - about 6000 years ago. After the fall of Adam and Eve, the first great event that is dated with great particularity is the Flood of Noah. This world changing event took place 1656 years after Adam and Eve (Genesis chapter 6 & 7). Redemption history began with Abraham (about 2000 B.C.). He is one of the most important people in history, the human father of the Jews and Arabs, and the spiritual father of all them that believe in the Messiah. He is the pattern man of faith of whom it is written:
The first quarter of Jewish history ended with the EXODUS, which took place about 500 years later, Father Abraham was told beforehand how long this first quarter was to last:
This event included the Passover, the crossing of the Red Sea, the giving of the Law of Moses etc. (Exodus 12:40). The second great event was the building of King Solomon's Temple, which occurred about 500 years after the Exodus. The Temple was begun by King David and finished by Solomon his son:
Israel reached the zenith of her greatness during his reign, both in territory and riches:
The third quarter was the period of the KINGS which lasted about 500 years and ended with the Babylonian Captivity. Soon after King Solomon's reign, apostasy set in and Israel was divided by civil wars, the kingdom of Israel in the North, and Judah in the South. This was the era of Jezebel who tried to kill all the true believers, and of Elijah the Prophet who was one of the few to survive her wrath! The Captivity lasted 70 years, and began in the 4th year of King Jehoiakim, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. This is the link that connects Bible chronology and world history (Jeremiah 25:1). The last quarter was the most important in history. Daniel the Prophet was told beforehand that Seventy Weeks or 490 years were determined upon his people, and after 483 years the Messiah would be manifested to Israel. This era was to begin at the famous decree of King Cyrus (457 B.C), ending the Babylonian Captivity, and allowing the Jews to return and rebuild their city and Temple (Daniel 9:24, Ezra 1:1). Momentous events happened during this quarter. . . . Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Jews faced terrible opposition as they worked to rebuild the Temple. The attempt by Haman to kill all the Jews in the Persian Empire. The fall of the Persian Empire to Alexander the Great. The rule of the Greek Ptolemies. Further attempts to massacre the Jews by Antiochus Epiphanes. The time of the Maccabees. And lastly, the rise of the Roman Empire and its conquest of the Holy Land. The Messiah was manifested to Israel exactly as predicted. . . . Jesus of Nazareth was anointed as Messiah at His baptism in the Jordan river, when He was about 30 years old, in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar (St. Luke 3:1). This is the only dated event in the New Testament, and with that great event Bible chronology ends. This was the greatest time in the history of the world, when God was manifested in the flesh, and Christ began His public ministry of three and a half years, which ended with His death and RESURRECTION.
Editor's Note All of the important events in Bible history are dated except for the birth of Christ. Jesus entered the world incognito and His ministry began when He was 30 years old. Satan wants us to remember the helpless infant in His mother's arms, not the reigning Kings of kings in Heaven. That is what Christmas is all about!! |